Save My Heart
by Saira3612
Summary: What if Stefan took off after the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant and biting Amber. Ending up in small-town Pennsylvania, he tries to live a normal human life, only to find that the past has a way of catching up with him. AU. Stefan/OC. Slash.
1. A Way About Him

_**Save My Heart**_

_**Fandom: The Vampire Diaries**_  
><em><strong>Pairings: StefanGeorgie, Damon/Katherine, Jeremy/Anna **_  
><em><strong>Rating: T-M<strong>_  
><em><strong>Summary: What if Stefan took off after the Miss Mystic Falls Pageant and biting Amber. Ending up in small-town Pennsylvania, he tries to live a normal human life, only to find that the past has a way of catching up with him. Season 1 AU. StefanOC. Slash.**_

_**Author's Notes: I'm waiting for you guys to kill me, I really am. Three big stories going on all at once, I know, I'm utterly crazy. This story rooted after I was watching Miss Mystic Falls with my best friend and I thought "What if Stefan left after biting Amber? How would he deal? Where would he go? Who would he meet?" hence why this story came into being. I own nothing, save for Georgie and Faith right now.**_

_Thoughts are in italics._

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><p><em><strong>Prologue - A Way About Him<strong>_

"You know, I think you can tell a lot about a guy the way he's dressed."

He caught the conversation between both of the cashiers easily, despite their hushed voices, thanks to his supernatural hearing, as well as the tiny and enclosed space of the gas station and convenience store. Both the boy and girl took stock of the people milling about, and felt both sets of brown eyes land on his back, purposely keeping it toward them so that they wouldn't see his face.

"Well, then the guy in the red hoodie's a douche." The boy's voice came through, adding on his own agreeing statement, as well as his own opinion of another of the patrons in the store.

The girl let off a derisive snort. "I think they're both douches."

The vampire smirked a bit at that statement, finding himself unable to disagree with the statement. Two men like the ones who prowled the store, looking for objects to steal would have been the ideal types to end up breaking his diet of animal blood for, if he had to actually say who he would break it for. Not the innocent girl he'd bitten before he left Mystic Falls and ran.

Of, course, if it wasn't for him running...

"Georgie. What are you spacing out about?"

_Georgie. So that's his name. Nice to finally put a name to the face._ Stefan thought to himself wryly, green eyes perusing the very small selection of car parts the store had to offer, still keeping his face hidden from the boy's view.

"I-I don't..." There was a stutter in the male's tone, as he tried to voice his thoughts, probably at seeing who he assumed was the man in the woods again. Little did he know it actually was. "...remember that guy I told you about, when I went to visit my cousin in Mystic Falls, Virginia?"

"The one in the woods?" The girl's voice held interest, the topic clearly having been discussed before.

"This is going to sound, really, _really_ freaky..." There was a swallow, though if it was of nerves or of hesitation, Stefan couldn't be sure. "...but I think that's him, Faith."

"_**What?!**_" In her own bewilderment, the girl, Faith, her name was, almost forgot to keep her voice low. Stefan could see just above the top of the shelf that the blond boy was looking around almost frantically, as if anyone else may have overheard her. _Or just me. _The thought made the vampire smirk once again. "How can you be sure?"

"I'm not." The response was delivered quietly, as Stefan watched as the boy's brown eyes cut over to him quickly, then back when he though he might be looking. "I mean, I haven't seen his face...yet. But, he's built like he was. Tall, muscular, chestnut-caramel colored hair, his eyes were a dark green, like think a green of a forest or-" His sentence cut off, and Stefan most certainly knew why.

Because he stood up to his full, imposing,height and let the other male clearly see his face. And his near slack-jawed expression was all the vampire needed to know.

_He definitely remembers..._ The thought brought Stefan unease, reminding him of the reason he'd ended up coming here in the first place. Because of this boy. This intriguing boy who ended up being immune to his compulsion.


	2. I Don't Know Much

_**Chapter 1 - I Don't Know Much**_

_**Author's Notes: Thank you to the followers of this story, as well as the reviews, guest or otherwise. I was quite surprised to log on and see that this story got such a following in such a short time. This chapter is my thanks to all of you. =) Oh, and before I forget, this is probably NOT going to be an Elena-loving fic. Fair warning!**_

_**Okay, I own nothing. Save for Georgie, Faith, and a new character I'm about to introduce.**_

_Thoughts and dreams are in italics._

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><p><em>He couldn't stay. He wouldn't stay. If he did, he'd have to deal with seeing the poor girl again. Deal with the questions from Elena, why he lied, why he didn't do better to stop himself. She never fully understood it, never fully grasped it, or she simply didn't want to. Human blood was like a drug to him. And Damon would just egg him on, urge him to break his diet of animal blood.<em>

_He couldn't deal with either of them right now._

_Which is why he was running, literally, through the woods of Mystic Falls. It was nearly silent, save for his footfalls, and the snapping twigs and branches underneath his feet. He couldn't even detect a heartbeat anywhere around. Animal or human._

_And that was even more disconcerting than anything else, even the innocent, beautifully-dressed teenage girl he'd fed on just a short time before. Coming to a stop, he inhaled, still standing in nothing but dead silence. And he found nothing, not even a trace of animals around._

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

_Whirling, he came face to face with a blond boy, with deep brown eyes. He was thin, nearly rail-thin, wearing a light blue v-neck with black skinny jeans and a pair of Converse. He couldn't be more than sixteen._

_Stefan's dark green eyes widened at the intruder, before he was standing before him, dark green boring into brown as he felt the power of his compulsion begin to work. "Run, now. Don't look back, don't stop until you get home."_

_However, the one thing the vampire wasn't expecting to happen happened. The boy stood stock still. "Why should I run?" His head tilted to one side with the question, exposing the jugular._

_Blinking once again, Stefan tried to reboot his shell-shocked brain, and get his eyes off the pulsing of the young boy's neck. Once again trying his compulsion on the boy, he repeated his earlier command, "Run, now. Don't look back, don't stop until you get home."_

_"But, I don't live here. I'm just visiting family." The sentence was said with a nervous laugh, like getting grabbed and told to run by mysterious strangers was normal for this boy._

_Stefan grunted, trying to resist the call, the pull of this innocent boy's blood. Letting him go, he tried to ignore the pounding in his head, keeping time with the raising beat of the boy's heart, he heard footfalls behind him, and felt a hand land on his shoulder. "Hey...are you alright?"_

_Shrugging the warm hand off, Stefan tried to get the boy to get the message: that he wanted to be left alone. However, the boy was far too dense, or kind, to get that. "Are you drunk? Or on something? Did someone make you take something? Do you need my help?"_

_It was almost comically ironic. Stefan wanted to be left alone, not be around anyone, and when he ended up running into someone, it had to be who he was willing to bet was one of the most understanding humans he'd met after Elena. The thoughts made him chuckle almost bitterly, turning around to face the young boy._

_"Look, kid, I don't know who you are, but-"_

_"He'll need your help soon, Georgie. But, then, you'll need his a lot more."_

_Standing next to the blond, brown-eyed boy was the smiling form of his best friend, Lexi. His dead best friend, Lexi._

Shooting bolt upright in bed, Stefan gasped out loud, coming out of the reoccurring dream he'd been having ever since he'd ran from Mystic Falls, and that night he'd bumped into the boy, Georgie, on his way out of town. His sheets were soaked, as was his tanktop, with his own sweat, his mind moving at hyperspeed as he tried to calm himself down and come back to reality once more.

_Who is he? Why didn't I go back and drink from him? What does he have to do with Lexi? Why was he immune to me without vervain?_

All questions he couldn't answer, wouldn't ever be able to answer without actually getting to possibly know the boy. Which is why he'd arrived in town a few days ago, though kept himself low-key. The last thing he needed was for the boy to see him before he was ready to be seen. Today, he was ready to be seen, which is why he let Georgie see him. He didn't buy anything, made a show of checking his phone for a message and then acting like he'd had something important to do, when the important thing was already finished. Now, he had to figure out how to approach him without seeming outwardly threatening.

Or innately curious as to how his dead best friend and him were appearing in his dreams like they knew one another.

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><p>"I just don't know. Faith says he's drop dead gorgeous and that, weird behavior or no, I should get to know him. See what was really up that night in the woods. I mean, I want to, don't get me wrong, it's just that-"<p>

"You're just holding yourself back and overthinking everything, as per usual."

"Oh, thanks for that, Dani."

"You're welcome Geo Georgie." The girl, named Dani, sitting across from him simply grinned cheekily as he rolled his eyes in amusement, and slight annoyance, at her nickname for him. Both her and Georgie sat in the local diner, conveniently 24 hours for when one had a late night crisis or they just wanted to stay out late, coffee and a slice of chocolate cream pie between them. Her hair was shoulder length, dark brown, with a blue streak in it. She sported a black hat atop her dark hair, and was dressed in a white shirt, black jeans, and knee-high boots. She had a leather jacket draped across the back of her chair.

"Har har, funny, Dan the Man." Georgie snarked in return, though he had a smile on his face and in his words, so it was clear there was no bad blood between the two of them. "But, seriously Dani, he's utterly drop dead gorgeous. Even you, with your bisexual leanings toward women, would go back to guys for him."

"I'll have to see him for myself, before I decide on going back to mantown." Dani replied pertly, before smiling sweetly at her friend sitting across from her. "You cover enough of that for both of us."

"I'm single, a virgin, and not out to my parents. I have a right to have wandering eyes." Georgie replied just as pertly, before sipping at his coffee.

"Most of the guys your eyes wander to are straight." Dani pointed out helpfully.

"Yes, they are, but they're still nice eye candy."

There was a wistful sigh to the male's tone, one that made Dani narrow her eyes.. "Stop thinking about woods man."

"Woods man?" Georgie raised a single eyebrow, wondering where this nickname came about. Dani had nicknames for pretty much everyone she knew, whether she liked them or not. Or even knew them or not.

"Well, I have to call him something!" The girl protested honestly. "After all, without a visual picture and with the story of him telling you to run away down in Mystic Falls and his weird eyes, you meeting him in the woods is all I have to go with!" She took a sip of her coffee, looking thoughtful as she did so. "Unless you have any possible better names for him?"

"Oh no." Her blond friend's voice was quiet, as he seemed to stare at her.

"Not really what I was going for, Georgie." The sarcasm dripped off of every word out of her mouth.

"No, Dani!" Georgie leaned forward on the table, hissing the next sentence at her. "He's _here_!"

Immediately, the girl whipped around, being greeted by the sight of the male her friend had been talking about in the entrance to the diner. _Tall, check. Dark green eyes, check. Muscles, **double** check._ The thoughts filtered through the girl's mind as she grinned happily, the grin catching the eye of the stranger her friend had described.

And then, to her own shock and she imagined Georgie's abject horror, he started walking over, those dark green eyes never leaving the table they both sat at.


End file.
